Fire retardant nanocoatings for wooden structures

Abstract

Wood is one of the natural resources that is used as a construction material since time immemorial. Most of the buildings in Western/European countries are completely constructed with wood [1]. Wooden constructions are cost-effective, lightweight, easy to construct, and can withstand natural calamities [2]. These constructions catch and transfer fire rapidly. It can also generate a considerable quantity of smoke and poisonous fumes when burned. In the year 2018-2019 American fire department reported more than 1.3 million cases of fire which caused 3,655 damages, 15,199 injuries, and around USD 25.6 billion property loss [5]. Existing fireproof coatings are toxic and release harmful gases when burnt leading to environmental pollution [4]. Hence the development of eco-friendly fire retardant nanocoatings is gaining importance.

Nanocoatings are the thin layer coatings that are used to preserve the outer layer of different building materials such as wood/timber and other materials. It also prevents corrosion and provides resistance to climatic changes. Nanomaterials such as silicon dioxide, carbon nanotubes, and aluminum oxide are commonly employed as fire-retardant materials on the surfaces such as wood, textiles, plastic, metal, and cement [1].

This review article brings out the application of nanotechnology for the fire safety of buildings. The use of fireproof nano-coated textiles/fabrics as depicted in figure 1,  and paints consisting of fireproof nanomaterials make the wood/timber fireproof. The nanomaterials that bring in the fire retardant property, development of coatings using such materials, technologies such as HefCel as shown in figure 2 and in-situ polymerization, the use of materials such as carbon nanotubes, nano-silica, nano clay, etc to bring the fire retardant properties to wood, are discussed in detail.